Twin Tendencies
by Yamato's Tiger Lily
Summary: Bakura is one hell of a player, but is it really for Ryou's benefit? Yaoi, twincest, Ryou and Bakura coupling. As well as mentions of others of course. This is my late late gift to HellRaiserAlchemist. Please review if you also liked it!
1. Chapter One

**Author's Notes: **This is probably going to be one of the few couples that I write that's not one of my personal favorites. Rather, this was a present to a friend on her birthday that I was never able to start on – until now! In any case, I hope you enjoy this fanfic (and review of course, hehe). I don't own YuuGiOh, either.

**Twin Tendencies**

By LilyChan

**Chapter One**

Ryou sighed as he finally placed down his mechanical pencil. His hands were throbbing from two hours of copying down notes. It wasn't _his _fault that his twin brother, Bakura, couldn't read the blurry text. It was quiet, being it 10:00 in the evening, aside from the pit-pat of the rain against the roof, window, and other things that had the misfortune of being outside. He leaned back in his seat and exhaled. It really had been a long night. Heck, it had been a long day!

First, he was late for school because his loving brother thought it would be funny to toss out his alarm clock out the 30th story window in the middle of the night. Then dear old brother used all the hot water and took away his clothes!

When Ryou had gotten out and went to pick out a new outfit for the day, but the only outfits that were left were the dorkiest sweater and Bakura's Halloween outfit. Thankfully Ryou had more pride so he picked the dorky sweater.

However, the shirt was made out of real wool, thus it was itchy on his sensitive skin to the max. Bakura ate the last piece of toast; he had gotten soaked by some passerby; and he had caught his friend Joey and his boyfriend doing something they shouldn't have been doing at a school bathroom – much less in public. Though, he's probably never going to use the hand soap the same way again.

Thankfully his teacher loved him (maybe a little too much at that) so he didn't get a tardy. Ryou sat down next to his brother who was flirting with some guy that he had never seen before.

The lecture was, as usual, boring and Ryou doodled. When the teacher said to choose a partner, Ryou cringed. He knew that he was going to be stuck with Bakura and the work. However, as soon as he got to his desk, Bakura was talking up a storm with one of his current boyfriends.

Thank goodness!

_Better him then me, _Ryou thought. Of course, normally, Ryou wouldn't think those thoughts. But if you had a brother like Bakura – and your twin on top of that, then would be different. He turned to the teacher and walked to him unaware that someone was staring at him.

"Um, Mr. Takikawa, I don't have a partner." Ryou stated as he looked at the Japanese teacher. The stout man refused to look at him in the eye but Ryou didn't mind. In fact, he was actually pretty thankful for it.

Mr. Takikawa has a thing for pretty schoolboys and girls. And it just so happens Ryou (as well as Bakura – much to Ryou's dismay) himself is a pretty boy.

The teacher fumbled around as he, again, tried to avoid eye contact with Ryou or any of the beautiful students that were there to torture him. Ryou crossed his arms as he tried to scratch his armpits – or anywhere for that matter, without being too obvious. The teacher took a while before he got out his class list. He glanced up and down at the paper and the students. The white-haired boy leaned on one side and tapped his foot.

He was wasting precious time!

Soon the teacher had arrived with the class roister and he looked triumphant. Ryou was a bit nervous, but he had faith in his teacher who, unlike others, also understood what it's like to be partnered with people who would make them do the work.

Ryou was eager to find out his partner, but when he said the name, he wished someone – or something, would go and smite him to nothing but ashes.

"Malik Ishtar."

So he listened to the blond Egyptian rant and rave on how boring the museum business with his sister, Isis, was and about the latest trends and how much Bakura irritated him…

However, he tried to escape his wrath when the bell rang but it was to no avail. The blond stalked him throughout the school to nag him about the notes he had to copy.

"Yes, yes." He'd say to him. "I got it copied. I just got to get ten cents for the copy machine in case Bakura, well you know. You've dated him once before."

The blond crossed his arms to give him a short glare.

"Well you better make sure you get it done before the end of the week."

Ryou narrowed his brown eyes in irritation. "Of course. I'm not like him."

He shrugged and left Ryou alone.

The rest of the day was boring, but his friends (especially Joey and Tristan) teased him about his sweater. He couldn't really say anything because he would then be forced to tell them what was in the closet other then the sweater.

And he was in no mood to traumatize, much less scare, anyone for the rest of the year. Besides, they would probably remember the Halloween incident anyway just at the mere mention of it – in which Ryou did not encourage. It only brought back memories. He shuddered at the mere thought, despite him being warm in the sweater.

"Is it too cold for you, Mr. Ryou?" asked the teacher who looked mildly irritated. He shook his head; however it only caused the grouchy teacher to turn up the heat in the room. Everyone glared at him and jeered at him for the rest of the day.

When Ryou blinked his baby brown eyes, he realized that he had just finished the notes. He sighed as he tossed himself over the table, his wrists to the point of just hunching over and stops functioning. His eyes drooped as he felt more and more tired from the day. Although he was sure the next would be just as terrible or worse the way it was going week.

Ryou groaned. He didn't want to think about it. He should be positive! At least he wasn't stuck with Bakura and all the work. Instead, he had found some other hopeless sap to fawn over Bakura long enough to do the work _and _pull off a decent grade. Well, Ryou just tagged the last part so he could feel better about having Bakura fawn over someone else, like he usually does every time he would get a new boyfriend.

It wasn't jealousy Ryou had. It was envy. The mere thought of breaking one heart and making one happy, however, didn't seem like fun. Chances were he would stay with that person until they tire of him.

Perhaps that's what kept him single longer then his dearest twin brother. Instead of them tiring of Bakura, he would tire of them and he would throw them out on the streets! For that Ryou didn't have any sympathy for him. It could also be because he had never seen his brother ever be the dumped – instead of the person who would dump others. The boy sighed tiredly. It was late and he had another long day the next day even though he was thankful to have finally found his clothes. And they will be clean and in his dresser chest until he needed it. Bakura merely laughed at his brother's misfortune and Ryou had the familiar urge to at least tell him how he felt about his pranks, especially on how he treated other people and how he would take advantage of other people's love.

It's not that Bakura would beat him up whenever he dares to think such thoughts; that just wasn't Ryou's character. He didn't want to bring problems onto himself for the sake of others because he had learned a long time ago that wasn't a wise thing to do. It didn't help that whenever the two were alone Bakura would play mother hen on him. He could understand, but he would like to prove to him that one day he could walk on his own two feet.

As it were, it seemed that he was taking care of himself decently in the new school they had arrived at the beginning of the year. Though it did feel like Bakura was drifting away, but that was expected. They were going to be 17 in a few months, and the older twin had started to look into apartments for himself. The boy sighed again as his eyes dropped further.

_Stupid Bakura, _he thought as he forced himself up. He packed the notes in their proper places (his notes in his notebook while Bakura's notes would be in his notebook) and turned off the lamp. He placed the mechanical pencil down. The white-haired boy grabbed his sore shoulder to rub it slightly, but a yawn escaped.

"Oh dear," he said as he realized how late it was. He was never one to stay up past 9:30.

"Early to bed, early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise," Ryou recited over and over. Though when he gave him that quote by Mr. Benjamin Franklin, Bakura made a snide remark.

"Or more like, early to rise and early to bed makes a male healthy and wealthy and dead!" he snickered. Naturally Ryou was offended on that remark, but he didn't say anything. He merely crossed his arms and gave his brother a glare, which only resulted in him rolling his eyes and sticking out his tongue.

Ryou slightly growled but he realized he couldn't be dwelling on his brother's immaturity at this particular point in time. He had to go to sleep.

**oooooo**

**Ending Notes**: Huzzah! I finished this first chapter finally. In any case, I know where exactly I'm going with this. And I've estimated on how many chapters this thing might have. Ten to fifteen chapters is the estimate. I hope I keep to my word. I also hope my muse is nice enough to let me continue to write this present. In any case, I hope you enjoyed the first chapter, Kiri. :3


	2. Chapter Two

**Author's Notes: **Ahh! I'm sorry! I should be working on this. In any case, I don't own anything that's not mine. Please review if you like it. :)

**Twin Tendencies**

By LilyChan

**Chapter Two**

When Ryou woke up that morning, he was quite shocked to see his brother sleeping in his bed (if you could call it sleeping in the first place) and with his clothes on top of it! He smiled him proud of his brother for having some self-control of his libido. However he couldn't help but hear another series of snores on the other side of the bed. The white-haired boy didn't even have to _glance_ to know that it was another person on the other side of his bed, probably naked.

_I should've known, _he thought bitterly as he made his way to the bathroom to take his daily shower.

After he had gotten dressed he had learned that the person Bakura had slept with the previous night was his partner from class. He merely sighed when he saw his brother trying to explain to their step-mother about yet another sexual encounter and how Bakura should be more like Ryou.

Great, not that again.

"What, you want me to be an obedient dog like him?" he asked rather harshly. Ryou felt the stab of betrayal although it really shouldn't have surprised him the way it always does. He figured it's the twin-bond that they supposedly have.

_Yeah, Bakura being loyal to anyone but himself, I would _pay _to see._ Ryou thought as he stood from his place. He glanced at his watch.

"It's time for me to go. Early to bed, early to rise, and all that," he recited as he grabbed his sack and left the room. Honestly, it was extremely early even for him to leave, but he didn't want to be around for yet another one of their arguments.

"Aren't you going to have breakfast?" his stepmother cried out, but alas he didn't hear her as he slammed the front door.

As he walked down to the bottom steps, he heard the door slam behind him.

"Ryou!"

He rolled his eyes; he needn't to guess who it was, but since his name was called, it's only polite to answer. He turned around and saw his brother with a very worried expression on his face.

"What?" he asked sounding unintentionally angry.

Bakura gave him an incredulous look. "About what I said…"

"Bakura," Ryou interrupted, "we've had these discussions before. It's fine. I'm okay, really."

He hesitated.

_Rather, I'd pay to see him care about others publicly; _he corrected himself as he turned back. "I'm heading to school early. I need to study." He started to walk away again until Bakura grabbed his arm. He turned only his head, but he had an angry expression on his face. "Let go, Bakura!"

He shook his head. "No."

Ryou struggled. This was strange, usually whenever they would have conversations like these; he'd leave it alone after Ryou would say that he was all right.

Something was wrong. Still, though, Bakura held his arm tightly whilst Ryou struggled. Somehow the older twin pulled him into a hug.

There was strange warmth there that he hadn't felt before, but then he would never hug his brother anyway for whatever reason. They were men, for God's sake! Even for the Bakura twins (called by Bakura's fan girls), they would not hug because that's not what men did.

But Ryou couldn't go away, much less struggle. He felt that maybe Bakura needed him more then Ryou ever thought.

"Don't go by yourself, Ryou. It's too dangerous," he heard his brother whisper.

He arched an eyebrow. "But it's just the school grounds. As far as I know, there are no ghouls or spirits haunting it."

Still, he held him close. "Just promise me you'll never go by yourself. I'll…I'll hang out in the hallways while you study. I just don't trust—"

Ryou interrupted him once more. "Why do you care so much, Bakura?" It was about time he got to the bottom of his often strange and stranger behavior. "You act like the world owes you a lot yet when we're alone like this; you treat me like I'm a baby. Why?" It scared even Ryou himself that all that came out in a whisper instead of the harsh tone he originally intended.

There was a bit of silence between them.

"I don't know myself."

The younger of the twins sighed heavily. He barely moved and he was set free. He turned and faced his older brother, if only by a few minutes.

"I would appreciate it if you would give me my space. I'm not fragile, Bakura. I," he paused as he glanced at the ground, "never was. I don't know why you have this urge to protect me. I don't need it. I'm going to be 17 too." He gave his brother eye contact again as he placed a hand on his shoulder. "Then once we hit 18, we can go our separate ways – you can do whatever you want, and I, well, will follow the path of Father."

Bakura smacked his hand away. His vulnerable face turned drastically into his much angrier state.

"You don't understand, Ryou," he said. "But if you want your space, fine. Forget about my offer then. Just like you don't need me, I don't need you. In fact, I'll just ask Mom to move my shit into the guest room."

Ryou blinked. Was this the sort of reaction he wanted? The angrier of the two turned and stormed back to the apartment, slamming the door and waking the neighbors' pets.

_Oh dear, I think I might've messed up for sure this time, _he thought to himself. He turned back towards the direction he was going. _But now since I'm out, I might as well keep going._

**oooo**

Just as he predicted there was no one at the school save for some teachers who arranged zero hour, the time where people would finish homework, do some extra curricular activities that couldn't make the afternoon schedule and all that. He went into his Japanese class to see the gym teacher taking the teacher's desk. This wasn't new to Ryou. Often he would go to zero hour (if Bakura didn't mess with his alarm clock and assuming it's still intact) and do some extra studying. He knew his friends wouldn't let him study mostly because they were huge slackers so he'd try to get some in as often as he could.

When he made it to the classroom, he saw Yuugi, someone who also understood some of the perils he had to go to with having a twin who would endlessly torture you. In his case, though, Yuugi was the eldest though it may not seem that way. He waved to his friend and the smaller one waved back. Ryou went to the back and sat next to the empty desk next to Yuugi.

"Hey, Ryou! I haven't seen you in zero hour for a while," he whispered.

"You know Bakura, always finding new ways to destroy my alarm clock."

Yuugi nodded, understanding what he meant. The two silently went back to work. It wasn't that they couldn't talk; it was just them being polite to those who were also studying in the room as well.

After Ryou finished some extra work for his other classes, he sat back and relaxed. He heard the door open and glanced to see who it was. He hoped it wasn't Bakura, about to pull yet another prank on him. He was relieved to see that it was just Malik, but he didn't look rather pleased. The teacher had gotten up to use the restroom, and he trusted those set of students since they were usually the ones who kept out of trouble unlike certain ones.

He crossed his arms and glared at Ryou. Confused, Ryou just sat there dumbly.

_What did Bakura do now?_ He thought.

Once Malik reached to him, he braced himself. This wouldn't be the first time he would get beat up for Bakura's misdeeds.

"Why are you doing that? I just wanted to talk." The blond Egyptian said.

He cracked an eye, but once he knew he was safe, he relaxed. "Sorry, you know Bakura's reputation and all that. I tend to get the butt and have to deal with his dirty laundry. More then one load, I can say," he laughed at his own lame joke.

"I'm sorry, Ryou," commented Yuugi, "but…that wasn't that funny."

He sighed. "You're right. Anyway," he turned back to Malik (Yuugi did too, since he was curious thus he kept quiet), "I have the notes ready. Did you want them already?"

Malik pulled up a chair from an unused desk and sat on it. "No, I can wait till during class to get them."

Ryou nodded, understanding. "Okay, so…once again, what did my brother do?"

The other shook his head. "Will you forget about that piece of shit?"

He was slightly taken aback, but due to his now independence he wouldn't be his brother's keeper anymore.

"Sorry," he said as he pulled out a scratch sheet and doodled. "What did you want to talk about?" Ryou glanced at him, giving him eye contact.

"I wanted to talk about this weekend." He reached in his pocket and pulled out a flyer. Apparently they conveniently had a carnival down by the bay, and it seemed to have promised a romantic getaway for two.

Yuugi glanced at the brightly colored flyer, the other students having now finished their assignments thus leaving the room. He smiled brightly. "Oh, Anzu told me about this. I didn't realize it's this weekend! We should all go as a group!"

Ryou lifted up his hands. "No, no, I don't think that's a very good idea, Yuugi. What would Anzu think?"

The other blinked dumbly. Then he seemed to get the message since he blushed really red. "O-oh."

Ryou slightly laughed as he got up to pick up his stuff. "Come on, let's go to the cafeteria. That's where the gang will be waiting anyway, right?"

Yuugi looked at his watch and gasped. "You're right! It's almost time for everyone to start arriving! Thanks for the idea, Malik!"

The two left, talking about what Yuugi should and shouldn't do when he's alone with Anzu. The blond glared at Yuugi's backside as he folded it and placed it back in his pocket.

**oooo**

The day went smoother now that he had finally gained his independence. Sure it was a bit awkward whenever he was in a class with Bakura.

_Avoid eye contact and distract yourself, _he told himself. It wasn't hard to do, he had to copy more notes and had to make plans with Malik to go to library later during the lunch period. Though, the friends of another student decided to confront Ryou when the teachers set them to work on their own.

"Hey," they said. Ryou glanced up to meet their angered expressions. "Where's your brother?"

Ryou was proud to shrug and say, "I don't know."

"You liar, you know exactly where he is. You just don't want to say."

"I don't know. I'm not dealing with his crap anymore."

He felt himself being lifted to the eye level of apparently the one that wanted to deal with him.

"You're lying," he whispered harshly. Ryou tried to glare, but it didn't do its job – to intimidate the other.

"Mr. Kozoumi!" the teacher yelled. "Put him down! You all just earned a detention!"

The boy dubbed Kozoumi put the fair-haired boy down, slowly but surely, and returned to his seat. The group grumbled. He walked up to the teacher, to prevent future embarrassing moments.

"Me too, sir?" he asked meekly. The teacher nodded.

_Aw, man, _he thought to himself as he returned to his seat, _I'm turning into him!_

**oooo**

The day was like hell for Ryou, yet it was very satisfying. Sure he now has independence, however, now that Bakura didn't come to his defense automatically. It was strange, though, that everyone decided to gang up on him over something his brother did.

_I wish they'd leave me alone, _he thought. _I already have three detentions!_

Finally it was the lunch hour and he told his friends that he had to go to the library. He didn't see Bakura but that was okay. He made his way to the library and found Malik with little trouble. Malik's expression seemed to soften from that morning.

"Hey Malik," Ryou softly said as he pulled up a seat next to him.

The blond turned to him and nodded. They both got out their work and started to work on their project. Some students came in and sat around them, which the two didn't mind. Malik would make jokes and Ryou would try to not to laugh so loud.

The librarian would turn to their direction and only told them once to be quiet.

Ryou almost laughed harder. The two gathered up their things and left the library.

"Do we even have time to go eat lunch?" he asked as he glanced at his watch. Malik nodded.

"Yeah, we were only there for 20 minutes."

_Only 20 minutes? It felt like we were in there for less then that!_ He thought when he put his stuff back in his locker. The two made it back to the cafeteria where there was still sort of a line to where they could get their lunches. Malik and Ryou took their places in line and they continued their talk. The blond Egyptian kept making jokes over and over again while Ryou laughed and laughed. Soon enough they got their lunch and they headed to the table where everyone greeted Ryou.

"Oh, I hope you don't mind Malik sitting with us," he said as he motioned towards Malik.

"That's fine!" said Yuugi eagerly as gave them a smile.

However, whenever his friends would try to talk to Ryou, Malik would distract him. The others thought it wasn't a big deal since Ryou had told them earlier about him finally standing up to Bakura. They even talked as they threw away their lunches which caused Anzu to speak up and they didn't even turn back to the group. Apparently Malik had him where he wanted him.

"I think Malik has a bit of a crush on him," she said as she got out some homework to work on as they waited for the bell to ring. Yuugi looked at her.

"You think so too?"

**oooo**

"Oh, what's your number?" asked Malik once school was finally let out.

Ryou's mind boggled. "But don't you still have it from when you and Bakura dated?"

He shook his head. "I told you not to talk about him anymore."

He bit his lip. "Oh, sorry about that but anyway, don't you still have the number?"

Once again he shook his head. "No, I threw it away after he broke up with me."

"Oh," he said. He got out a sheet of paper and wrote down the number then he handed it to the blond.

Malik smiled. "Thanks."

When he went to detention, he wasn't surprised to see Bakura, but instead of sitting near him he usually would, he sat as opposite of him as he could. There were quite a few others in the room, most notably Jounouchi and Honda. When the teacher wasn't looking, they moved quickly near Ryou.

"Hey!" whispered Jou. He turned and slightly waved. "What are you in here for? Studying too much?"

The brunet laughed with him. The white-haired one didn't think it was that funny.

"Oh lighten up, Ryou! It's a joke!"

He still didn't find it as funny, but he sighed. "Anyway," he said to change the subject.

"Shh!" shushed Honda. "Do you want us to get in trouble?"

He shook his head. "No, sorry about that," Ryou whispered.

Jou glanced at Bakura and Bakura made an angry face and turned back to Ryou.

"Geez, what did you do, Ryou?" Jou asked, still whispering. "He's more angry then usual. Did you accidentally cook his meat for dinner?" He laughed as quietly as he could to emphasize the ridiculous situation he just explained to him.

He shook his head. "No. Honestly, I don't know why he's so angry. And," he paused for dramatic effect. "I don't care." He smiled, proud that he doesn't care anymore.

Jou and Honda glanced at each other. "Uh," said Honda. "We knew that. There's no need to repeat yourself."

The blond sighed. "Ryou, you need to tell the difference between a joke and a genuine question." He placed a hand on his face in exasperation.

"But I do!" Ryou said.

The teacher turned, since he _thought _he heard a student talk. He glanced in Ryou's direction to see a bunch of empty seats.

"Where are Mr. Jounouchi and Mr. Honda?"

He shrugged. "I don't know."

"Did they even come in for detention?"

"Yeah. I think they went to the bathroom though like you said they could."

"I did?"

Ryou nodded frantically. "Yes. You did. I believe it was when you were reading the newspaper."

The bulky teacher paused. "Oh. Okay then." He stood up and headed out towards the door. "I'm going to get something to eat. I expect to see all 10 of you including Mr. Jounouchi and Mr. Honda. Be sure to pass that to them when they return, Mr. Imai."

He nodded. Once the teacher went out, the two boys reappeared out nowhere.

"Thanks, Ryou!" said Honda.

"Yeah, who would've guessed you were actually daring?" Jou joked as he hit his elbow in his ribs. The white-haired boy rubbed his sore ribs. He smiled.

"Well I am. Living with Bakura actually taught me a few things, I guess." The boys laughed as Bakura in the corner glared at the two even more. He tore up a piece of paper and raised himself from his desk. Because the other teenagers were creating more noise, Bakura stood up and left the room. Ryou saw him at the corner of his eye.

_Things are going to be awkward at home._

**ooooooo**

**Ending Notes: **Finally the end of the chapter. I apologize for taking so long with the next chapter. I hope you'll continue to read and review this story. I'll try not to take so long with the next chapter. In any case, I hope my characterization was good. Enjoy, Kiri!


	3. Chapter Three

**Author's Notes: **I don't own anything. Yes, a new chapter so soon. XD I hope this is as magical as the previous two.

**Twin Tendencies**

By LilyChan

**Chapter Three**

When Ryou returned home, he got in trouble with his parents when he explained why he was home so late.

"**Three** detentions?"

"You don't understand – they were trying to hurt me! And it's not like I lifted a fin—"

"That's not the point! You're acting like your brother."

"But Father!"

"Don't talk back to him! This isn't like you at **all**, Ryou!"

"Mother, I'm merely trying to explain to you—"

"Don't talk back to your mother, Ryou. I know you've been really stressed out lately because Bakura has a date for the carnival –"

"What? Father, that doesn't matter to me! I'm going with my friends anyway."

"Oh, you shouldn't go with them," she said with an obvious distaste for them. "That's for couples!"

Ryou sighed. "I don't know anyone who would want to go with me anyway."

He turned and slowly went to his room when his parents called for him. He turned to see them trying to calm themselves down.

"Dinner will be ready soon. Don't forget to wash your hands before you come to eat. Be sure to tell your brother that."

He nodded as he continued his way.

**oooo**

When he made it there, he noticed that the guest room was shut.

_I suppose Bakura made good with his threat, _he thought as he went inside his now roomier room. He shut the door as gently as he could without disturbing anyone.

He glanced in his room and saw that he did indeed had plenty more room. He smiled as he placed his bag over his chair like he normally would.

He stretched out his arms and started to move some of the furniture he longed to have room for. Mostly his desk. It was detachable so they could have room for Ryou's computer and Bakura's computer. Now that both his huge mattress and his computer desk weren't around, he could attach the desk part to it and write stuff _at the same time_. Not only that, Ryou finally had the privacy he craved.

Bakura would often barge in Ryou whenever he got out of the shower, changing clothes, or anything that required him to change clothes literally at random intervals. Needless to say, the younger of the twins learned quite quickly to change fast. He didn't want to change in the bathroom they shared (or no longer shared) since Bakura would claim that he took too long.

Soon, he had finished rearranging his room to the way he finally wanted. He sat on his desk and panted due to the work he had to do. He didn't need any help; the adrenaline rush gave him the strength he needed to finish the room.

"It's all mine…" he panted out. He laughed bitterly. Sure he had gotten his own room at the chance of leaving his brother angry at him for obviously not understanding his feelings. Maybe he wouldn't ever understand, he figured. Bakura was dangerous and unpredictable. Ryou didn't want to try to fix something that was already heavily damaged in the first place. He cared about his well-being after all.

"Ryou! Bakura! Dinner!" cried out his mother.

He got up and walked to his bathroom. He glanced behind at a job well done and smiled.

Once he finished drying his hands, the phone rang. He raced to the phone in **his **room and picked it up.

_I hope its Yuugi so I can tell him the details!_ He excitedly thought as he picked up the phone.

"Hello?"

"Hey is this Ryou?"

He swallowed. _Malik? _He thought nervously. _Oh that's right – I gave Malik my number._

"Y-Yeah, hey Malik! What's up?"

"Ryou, where are you?"

He grimaced. "Hey, look I have to go eat. Can I call you back?"

He heard Malik laugh in the background. "Sure. Not a problem." Then he heard the receiver click. Ryou put the phone back on the holder and ran down the hall despite the fact he was sore and now hungry. He ran to the hallway bathroom and washed his hand really quick and then headed back out. Once he made it to the dining room, he sat down on his chair – exhausted.

"Who was that on the phone?" his step-mother asked as she placed the hot food on the table. His stomach growled. Ryou laughed nervously.

"It was Malik," he answered, sounding quite embarrassed. _I _am _turning into Bakura!_

She gave him a look. "But I thought Bakura and Malik broke up?"

He shook his head. "No. He was asking for me." His mother paused.

"Okay, then," she said as she gave her husband a glance. He was busy giving Ryou an equally baffled look.

"What?" he said, dumbly. "He's just my partner in class."

This time the parents gave each other a glance. "Alright, then," she said once more as she walked near the stairs.

"Bakura! Dinner's getting cold!" she yelled. Ryou blinked and started to eat his dinner before him.

"So other then getting **three** detentions," his father started, "how was your day?"

Ryou shrugged. "It was normal, I guess."

His father nodded. "Have you decided a college?"

"Well, I'm thinking about going to the same one you went to. You know, to become an archeologist as well." He smiled.

His father also smiled. "Your grades are defiantly up to snuff; I think you'll make a fine one." He reached over and patted his son on the back.

When Bakura came in, he was quiet. He sat down, picked up his fork, and started to eat.

"So how was your day, Bakura?" asked his mother. The other was still quiet, save for grunting noises. Ryou gave her a glance that read "Give it up, he might kill you if he gets angry enough," but she didn't get the message. "Surely something interesting happened today? I see you're finally learning to control your libido. I know you probably inherited that from your father—"

Bakura tossed his fork on the plate which made the other jump, though his parents didn't move a muscle.

"Done." He said. He got up and left the room.

His mother gave her husband a confused glance. Even Ryou was disgusted, but there was no way he was going to get back on his parents' bad sides. He kept an open ear and eye to see what'd happen next. She got up and went to the Bakura's bedroom. The two men could hear the drama going on.

"Bakura come out this instant!"

There wasn't an answer.

"Now! Do you want to be grounded again? I don't think your date would appreciate it if you were to back out now!"

There was still no answer.

"I guess I'll just have to call him up and sa—"

The door finally opened and from what Ryou and his father could hear he whispered something they couldn't make out. Soon the two returned to the dinner table and Bakura tried his best to avoid eye-contact with Ryou _and _the step-mother.

Dinner was otherwise really good. Even though the two would often fight, there really could be no denying that she can cook really well. Ryou smiled as he felt strangely giddy. Perhaps it's because even though he had received three detentions for doing nothing, the day was almost over. Perhaps it was the delicious dinner he received, or the fact he has his own room now.

"So what class are you and Malik partnered up for?" she asked him as she raised her fork to her mouth.

"Japanese class," he responded. "We have to work on an era so we can understand about the country better."

His parents nodded whilst Bakura just stabbed his food. He looked like he was going to explode at any minute so no one made direct eye contact with him, much less talked to him.

"Oh, that's nice," she said. The two continued their talk as Bakura got up once again and took his dinner to his room.

They all stared at him as he slammed the door behind him.

Their mother sighed. "Leave him be, Kikyou," said his father. "Obviously he doesn't want anything to do with us right now."

Ryou glanced at his half-gone meal and bit his lip.

_Somehow I feel like this was my fault._

**oooo**

Once dinner was finished, Ryou promised his mother he'd do the dishes after he finished his homework.

_Oh, that's right! _Ryou thought as he made his way to the phone in his room, _I have to call Malik back._

He played with the caller id to where he could call the person who called previously back; once he pressed the 'Talk' button, he heard it ring on the other side for a couple of rings.

"Hello?"

"H-hi Malik," he said, perhaps too eager to say it.

"Hey, how was dinner?" he laughed.

"Oh it was delicious."

"That's good to hear."

"So, uh," he said nervously, "what's up, since, you know, after school?"

Once again he heard the blond laugh.

"Not much, really. I just got done with my homework."

"Aw, I have to start on mine," he groaned.

"It's okay; you're going to be there again for zero hour right? You can just do it there with your little buddy."

"Yeah, you're right." The two paused as it hit him. It was a sarcastic remark about Yuugi. He glared at the phone. "Hey, that wasn't nice, Malik!"

He heard the other laugh once again.

"Sorry about that," he said as he calmed himself down. "You're just easy to make fun of, that's all."

"Mhm," he said as closed his trap. That seemed to be getting him into in trouble as of late. The other laughed yet again.

"You're so cute, Ryou," he said.

Not really paying attention, Ryou stopped himself. "What?" he asked.

"I said you're so cute."

He blushed.

"U-uh…" he stammered, he didn't know how to take it. "Thanks? Sorry, Malik, I'm not used to people calling me cute."

He heard the other chuckle. "It's okay. But I mean it. You are cute. I'm surprised you haven't dated anyone from school yet."

His blush got deeper. "W-well, that's because I'm so busy with school, I don't really think about that sort of thing. Not like Bakura who sleeps with everyone he even meets."

There was a bit of silence on the other end.

"I see," Malik said softly.

_Oh dear, _he thought, _I'm talking about Bakura again! Better change the subject._

"S-so, are you planning on going to the carnival with anyone? I heard that it's for couples only. I thought it'd be welcome to anybody…"

He heard the other's voice perk up again. "Yeah, they do. They just prefer couples to arrive there, that's all."

"That's a strange carnival. I wonder how they keep in business." Ryou wondered out loud.

Malik laughed. "I swear, you are too adorable." Ryou blushed one more. "Anyway, they prefer a couple because it's sappy. I mean, think about it, Ryou. It's on the most romantic evening of all."

"What, Valentine's day? Isn't that for another few months?"

He sighed. "Not Valentine's day, the day before Homecoming."

"Oh," he said dumbly. "But, isn't that clichéd? Going to a carnival before Homecoming?" he asked.

"It's how they make their money."

Ryou shrugged. "I guess, but it's still clichéd."

Once again Malik laughed. "Yeah, I guess it is." There was a bit of silence between them until the Egyptian spoke once more. "Would you go out with me to the carnival?"

**ooooooo**

**Ending Notes**: Wewt, it's not as long as the previous chapter, but I hope it's still long enough. XD In any case, as you noticed, I changed the rating – I decided against what I was originally going to do and just lower it a notch. I won't say because I want people to keep coming back for moar. Hehe. XD Anyway. Please review!


	4. Chapter Four

**Author's Notes: **I still don't own anything. Once again, please keep on reviewing. It's those that really help me write faster. :D I love getting reviews, what can I say? XD Anyway I won't keep you in suspense anymore. Here is the fourth chapter!

**Twin Tendencies**

By LilyChan

**Chapter Four**

"Would you go out with me to the carnival?"

"U-uh," Ryou stammered. "I-I don't know, Malik…"

"Just as friends, of course. It's just to get the discount," he tagged at the end.

"O-oh, if it's just being friends, then sure! We can do that!" Ryou laughed to emphasize it, but he still felt extremely nervous. _Crud, I forgot to do the dishes! _"Sorry to cut this short, but I forgot to do the dishes! I apologize!"

"It's okay. I understand. Bye!"

Once Ryou said his own goodbyes, he placed his phone back on the cradle. He ran out the door to the kitchen where he saw his step-mother finish placing a pot in the cupboard which resulted in a loud slam. He slightly winced. "Uh, Mother? What are you doing?"

That caused her to pause and placed each hand on either end of the sink. She sighed heavily. "Why couldn't it be **you **who's straight? At least I could've have grandchildren," he heard her whisper.

"Pardon?" he asked, trying to reassure his ears what they just heard.

Once again she sighed heavily. "Nothing," she said. "Just go back to your room." With that, Ryou took his leave.

As he made his way back, he saw his brother with a cynical smile. He tried to avoid his gaze, but he grabbed his arm so he had no choice _but _to look at him.

"Now you see why I've always liked him," he said amusement clear in his voice. He let him go and poor scared Ryou scrambled back to his room and unintentionally slammed his door. Bakura smiled wider, baring his teeth even, and quietly closed the door.

Once he locked his door, he placed his back against it, slid down and brought his knees closer to him.

_Everyone is going bonkers! This is crazy! _He thought to himself as he sighed and glanced up in the ceilings. He then thought of the one person who could manage to listen through his thoughts on the world today. He reached for his phone.

He pressed the talk button and heard two familiar voices.

"Haha, you're bad, you know that Bakura?"

"Of course I'm bad. I'm fuc—Hold on. Hello, Little Ryou."

He heard the other laugh.

"How'd you know it was me—"

"Because we're twins, dummy," he growled. "That twin telepathic thing that we have."

Ryou gulped, and then perhaps he knew what he was feeling?

"Should I leave you two alone or should I get my own brother to join in the conversation?"

"Bakura! I need to use the phone! And yes, Atemu, please."

Bakura merely imitated him by using a baby voice.

"Stop it," he said, firmly.

He sighed into the receiver. "Fine, I'll let you two ladies talk. I'll talk to you later, Atemu."

"Uh… This is Yuugi…"

He hung up the other line.

"I'm sorry about that, Yuugi," Ryou laughed nervously.

"It's okay; I know brothers are a pain."

He laughed with a little bit more ease.

"Anyway you'll never believe what's going o—"

"Atemu already told me…"

He growled under his breath. _Somehow I'll get him back, one of these days…_

"Well, it's weird isn't it? That Malik would ask me out."

"What makes you say that? I think he likes you."

He paused. "What? Since when?"

"I'm not sure, but I think it was right before Bakura broke up with him."

"Aw, Yuugi, how come you know more about who likes who **and** maintain your grades? This is really confusing me…"

Yuugi merely laughed. "It's okay, Anzu constantly talks about that whenever we study together or even out on a date. I don't even know why I pay attention to that."

"What can you do? Anyway, I haven't done my homework yet."

"Really? That's really strange of you, Ryou!"

"I know! Don't remind me…"

"It's late, though. I'll see you in zero hour tomorrow okay? Bye!"

The two hung and Ryou tossed himself on his bed, not feeling like going online. He usually goes online if he had time after homework to chat with some buddies he knew from either school or even other places on the web. What he did most of the time was chat in forums about certain shows he was a fan of. He made a mental note to himself to tell them that he'd be online more often. When the two shared the room before, Bakura would always comment on him looking up gay porn when all he was doing was viewing pictures of what's to come in the later episodes. He couldn't go to that forum much less talk to anyone since Bakura would ask who they were and if they were going to have sex (or cyber) with Ryou.

_Really, though, I need to stop thinking about Bakura. As _soon _as I turn 18, I'm _so_ leaving this city. _He thought as he sighed. He reached over for his remote control and turned on his television. He'd barely made it to the end of the opening credits to the aforementioned show he was a fan of. Sadly, not even his favorite show could cheer him up. Was this were all the girls into, gossip? Don't they get emotionally drained from it? Maybe it's simply because Ryou's not used to such a world and would usually stay out of it. Even so, as soon as he was in, he wanted back out. He wanted it to go back to normal, with the exception of him having his own room.

"Do you know how much I need you, Hiro?" said one of the characters on the show. "I-I've done this for you! You don't get it! I'll kill again if I had to!"

_I really hope no one gets that way for me; that's pretty creepy._ He thought as the police got a hold of the passionate (for lack of a better term) woman in handcuffs. The man, named Hiro, gave her a disgusted look. Then it went to a commercial break.

**oooo**

Ryou had a really nice sleep that night. He wasn't sure what he dreamt about but it felt nice. He woke up feeling really light and giddy, not even knowing why. Everything was intact and all his clothes were there **still**.

_That's probably why, _he thought to himself as he went to go take a shower. When he was out he changed, and headed to the dining room. He was still in a good mood despite the tension that was in there. Bakura gave him a wink whilst their step-mother would just avoid talking to him anymore then she could. After he finished his breakfast, he made his way out the door and towards school.

He appeared early once again for zero hour but no one made a real comment on it. He got out his homework and did it as Yuugi and he talked about the episode that was on the previous night. Malik didn't show up early but somehow seeing him that day would've made Ryou feel nervous. Well, more nervous then he already was. He kept fidgeting even after he finished and kept a watchful eye on the door.

"What's wrong?" asked his best friend. When Ryou didn't look at him, he tapped his shoulder. The other almost jumped out of his seat but he caught himself. He laughed. "Are you alright, Ryou? You're rather jumpy!"

He defiantly picked up sarcasm there, but since it was Yuugi, Ryou couldn't be too mad at him. The other students glared at the two for being louder then usual but then they left soon anyway.

"I suppose I am, Yuugi. I just wish everything was back to normal," he whined as he placed his books and pencils back where they belonged and as Yuugi followed suite. The shorter one patted his back and nodded, if only to help him feel better. Soon the two had made out of the classroom and they resumed talking about their show.

When Yuugi pointed out that Malik was there, Ryou almost dropped his books once more. He laughed.

"I'm just teasing, Ryou! You got to relax and let loose!"

He bit his lip; he did not like this new Yuugi not one bit. The old Yuugi he knew wouldn't be this weird at all.

_That's it; I've been transported into another dimension and I bet my _real _friends are worried sick for me. That's it! I've got to stay positive…_He thought as he made his way to his first class after getting his things for the day.

Unfortunately for him, this was as real as it's going to get. He continued his way as the students passed by him as they normally would. This is what Ryou craved – normalcy. His family and his friends were crazy enough as it were. He gets his drama fix just by watching and listening to their crazy stories. He never wanted to be part of that world. What went wrong? Did it start changing when Mr. Takikawa paired him up with Malik?

_I think that's when it changed, _he concluded. He sighed as he rested his head against the cool locker. Honestly, he couldn't care less now. The day had barely begun and already he was exhausted. His good mood from earlier? Gone. It went when Yuugi teased him about Malik. Figuring it's best to just ride with it instead of fighting it, he let out a heavy sigh as he made his way to first period. _The longer I dwell on this, the longer it'll be. _He smiled once more, his good mood returning.

"That's right. I just got to go with the flow!" he said enthusiastically. He then realized he was alone in the hallway save for some students who ran past him.

**oooo**

"Since you have so many detentions already," said the teacher, "I'll let you go with a warning. Go to your seat now."

Ryou thanked the kind-hearted teacher and sighed as he felt everyone's eyes on him. He was accidentally late for his first period class and, thankfully, he didn't share it with any of his friends. He took his place and tried to catch up with what notes were already up on the board. He felt so embarrassed; he couldn't believe this is happening to him! He was turning into Jounouchi and Honda…

Thankfully it was over. Deciding not to make the same mistake, he merely waved to his friends as he made his way to the second class. Yuugi, Anzu, and Jounouchi gave each other confused glances as the white-haired boy quickly passed them by.

Before Ryou knew it, it was Japanese class. When he approached the door, he took a deep breath. At the corner of his eye, he saw Bakura and Atemu talking to each other and laughing. He turned for an instant and swore he thought Bakura gave him a wink once again. He turned back, angry, and stormed inside the class.

_He makes me so angry! _Ryou thought as he brought out his materials. He didn't see Malik pull up a seat next to him. The blond reached up and put a piece of his hair behind his ear. Because of the surprising touch, the boy practically jumped to the ground, just about taking the desk with him.

Malik stared at him and laughed. "Are you that excited over a clichéd carnival, Ryou?"

He got to his knees and laughed nervously. "I-I suppose I am…" he laughed once more to emphasize how over the top it was, but he stopped, fearing that if he kept laughing, he might scare the Egyptian. The bell rang and Malik gave him a wink as he returned to his seat.

This was the first time he felt butterflies, he guessed they were, flying around in his stomach.

Soon the teacher let the students get with their partners and Malik merely returned to his spot. Ryou sighed, possibly for the umpteenth time that day, as he got out the pictures of the emperors for that particular era they were working on.

"So here are the pictures I got from the—"

"I would so ride that."

He blinked his brown eyes. "What?" He looked at Malik and saw that he was reading some sort of booklet. He couldn't get a good look of it, but he did see a huge Ferris wheel on the cover. He glared at him. "Why are you reading that when we should be doing our work?"

Malik glanced up with his colored eyes, and then he returned his gaze back to the book. "Because you already have the pictures. We already have most of the research done."

"No we didn't! We haven't even begun to scratch the surface!"

"Relax!" he said as he touched his tongue with his finger and then he turned the page. "My sister will let us in the museum to check out the artifacts. Conveniently for us, she got the stuff from our era. Besides, we got plenty of time; it wouldn't kill you to have a day off from working, right? And look around you, everyone else is goofing off – I bet none of them have any pictures at all!"

He tossed himself over the desk, annoyed, irritated, confused, and maybe even more feelings then he can count, consuming his energy.

"Malik, I don't want another detention…" he mumbled. "Please, can we just **pretend **to be working?"

The other boy chuckled, seemingly ignorant to the boy's pleading. "What'd you do anyway? Study too much?"

_Even Malik thinks that…_He thought as he placed his face on the cool desk, feeling himself blush all over again.

"Well," he said as he placed his chin on his desk, giving him eye contact even if he didn't have the same courtesy, "all these guys want to talk to Bakura but apparently I'm still his keeper."

"Mhm," he said as he grabbed a marker and circled something.

"And…that's it."

"What?"

"That's all that happened. The teachers thought we were fighting when they were threatening bodily harm on me for something Bakura did."

That's when he finally gave him eye contact, only he was angry. Ryou actually felt tiny even though he was sharing a tale.

"Who threatened you?"

He felt nervous. "Uh…uh…I don't know! But he had spiky hair, but that's all I remember about him! Malik, don't do anything rash!"

He smiled as he placed a hand on his head and petted him. "Don't worry; I won't if you don't want me to." He placed the book on the desk and pointed to a particular ride with the marker pen. "We should ride this together. This ride looks awesome!"

Ryou took a glance at it and saw that it had many twists, turns, upside down loops, and it even mentioned that it went backwards.

He stammered once. "U-uh, no, I think I'll pass…" He already felt sick just by looking at the pictures.

"Aw, why not? Don't you get tired of being normal?"

He wanted to say no, but for some reason nothing came out. Did he really enjoy this new span of attention? Usually everyone considered him a studious rat next to Yuugi, but at least Yuugi had a girlfriend and a wild hairstyle. All his friends had some sort of niche, including his own brother. He supposed his only talent was getting things right and looking up the right things in the right books. He thought he was happy with being normal, being ordinary, but maybe because of this newfound taste of being noticed, maybe he judged too quickly on it? Perhaps he should give being spontaneous a try? Yeah, maybe he will.

"I-I guess you're right…" he said.

"So that means you'll go on this with me?"

"S-sure. But I'm sorry if I throw up on your shoes. I tend to get motion sickness if I go backwards too fast."

Malik laughed. "It's okay." When it seemed that no one was looking, Malik placed his lips on his cheek.

That was perhaps the brightest red he's ever been.

**ooooooo**

**Ending Notes: **Ah poor dear Ryou. But we love him so! Anyway as I mentioned before reviews encourage me to write faster. I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much I've had fun writing it. :D Until next time!


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